State gets one million to help the head-injured

The state health department is going to use one-million federal dollars to connect people with brain injuries to the comprehensive care they need.

This is the 13th year Missouri has gotten a federal brain injury grant. The million dollars will be used in the next four years to create additional resources and systems leading people to the best possible care.

The manager of the state health department’s Adult Head Injury Program, Lori Brenneke, hopes to target specific groups of people with brain injuries, their survivors, and their families.

She says brain injury differs among groups. Children’s injuries often are the result of child abuse; Traffic accidents are a leading cause among young people. Wars have led to increased brain injuries. But Brenneke says the most common cause of brain injury is falls, often among older people, but sometimes even with younger generations